.TOPIC:                                           
Main Configuration - Screen Two

                                           VBBS 6.12 Documentation -- 2-B-1


         ͻ
          CHAPTER TWO ANNEX B    1. MAIN CONFIGURATION -- Screen Two     
         ͼ

         1) Net Low Time
         2) Net High Time
            
            These two settings let you specify a period of time for
            network transfers.  During net time, users calling the BBS
            will receive the text message you've configured in NETONLY.TXT
            (Text Directory)  and be logged off.  (Note: SysOp may log in.)
            This is a way to open up a busy BBS for network calls,
            typically late at night. Use of this feature may be required in
            some networks.

            The "net low time" is the beginning of the net period; the
            "net high time" is the end of the net period.  The times
            must be entered in HH:MM format using military time; if
            both are set to 00:00, the feature is disabled.

         3) Net Redial Attempts
            
            This specifies the number of network redial attempts VBBS
            should make.

         ͻ    If you are a "leaf node" (i.e., no one connects to your
         ͼ    system for their network packets) and your server's BBS
                isn't particularly busy, chances are you won't have to
                set this very high (5 attempts usually connects me with
                my server).  If your net connect is a very busy BBS, you
                may need to set this as high as 50 or more.  Keep in mind
                that while your system is calling out, users can't call
                in.

         4) Network Poll Delay at WFC
            
            This setting configures how often VBBS checks to see if
            it needs to perform some type of automatic network dial-
            out.  It is expressed in seconds (i.e., a value of 600
            would represent 10 minutes).

         5) Dialing String
            
            This setting specifies the proper dialing string for your
            modem.  This will, in most cases, be either ATDT (for tone
            dialing) or ATDP (for pulse dialing).

         6) New User Security
         7) New User Time
            
            These settings define the security level (SL) and time
            limit given to a new user on your BBS.

                                           VBBS 6.12 Documentation -- 2-B-2


         ͻ    Make sure that you give new users a high enough SL and
         ͼ    enough time to at least explore your BBS for a bit.

         8) Min. Sec. Lvl. Autopost
         9) MSL Email Others
         A) MSL Email Sysop Attached File
         B) MSL Email Others Attached File
         C) MSL MultiMail
         D) MSL Email Carbon-Copy
            
            These settings define the minimum security level (MSL) a
            user needs to access certain functions of the BBS.  A
            typical BBS might allow a new user to E-mail others, but
            restrict the other functions to validated users; some
            boards restrict multi-mail and carbon-copy mail to the
            sysop and co-sysop only.

         ͻ    A mistake beginning sysops sometimes make is setting these
         ͼ    too high for anyone to access; make sure the MSLs are low
                enough for users to access at least SOME of them.

         E) Upload/Download Ratio
            
            This setting specifies the optional system upload/down-
            load ratio; if enabled, it requires that users upload
            files in order to be able to download them.  To calculate
            the value to enter in this field, use the following for-
            mula:

            decimal ratio = (required uploads) / (allowed downloads)

            For example, to require that a user upload 1K for every
            5K downloaded (a ratio of 1:5), you would convert the
            fraction 1/5 into a decimal and enter the value .2 in
            the ratio field.  Other values are possible; some of the
            more common ones are

                .1   (1:10 ratio)     .05  (1:20 ratio)
                .25  (1: 4 ratio)      .5  (1: 2 ratio)

            Ratios like 1:3, 1:6, 1:7 and so on are probably better
            dealt with through a credits system (see Screen Three
            for details); as with some of the other settings, a
            value of 0 in this field disables ratios entirely.

         F) Allow Auto-Sysop Validation
         G) Auto-Sysop Security Level
         H) Auto-Sysop Time Limit
            
            This feature is useful to those whose callers include a
            good number of other sysops.  With it, you can allow them
            to  boost their own SL and time limit a little.

                                          VBBS 6.12 Documentation -- 2-B-3


            This feature can either be ON or OFF.  If setting (F) is
            set to NO, sysop auto-validation is disabled completely.

        ͻ    It should be noted that there have been instances where
        ͼ    non-sysop users have given false information and gained
               visiting-sysop status on some systems.  There are, how-
               ever, several source-code modifications (if you have
               registered at the source level) and scripts to combat
               this problem.

         I) QWK Message Limit
            
            This setting defines the maximum number of QWK messages
            to put into one QWK packet.  Unregistered copies of VBBS
            are limited to 50 messages per packet; entering the re-
            gistration number and registration code on Screen One
            enables full QWK-limit configurability.

        ͻ    Suggesting a good number to enter in this field is dif-
        ͼ    ficult to do; if you have a large number of active net-
               worked message bases, you will probably want to set this
               high (say, 500 or so).  This is a trial-and-error set-
               ting, but easily changed.

         J) Enter System Password for WFC Sysop Commands
            
            If this is set to YES, then the system password is re-
            quired to access certain functions from WFC.  It's use-
            ful if your BBS needs to be secure locally -- if you
            have a lot of your users dropping by, or if you have
            small children lurking about the computer, for example.
            It can, however, be somewhat annoying if you make fre-
            quent use of the WFC commands when tinkering with the
            BBS (in which case you may want to at least temporarily
            disable it).

         K) Mail Hold Time (Days)
            
            This specifies the time, in days, that E-mail should be
            kept active on the system.  When an E-mail reaches the
            age limit, it is automatically purged from the BBS.  A
            value of 0 disables this feature, although this is not
            recommended (see below).

        ͻ    Encourage your users to clean up after themselves by
        ͼ    deleting (or extracting, THEN deleting) E-mail after
               they've read it.  Old, read E-mail DOES tend to pile up
               on the system and may create problems if hard-drive space
               is at a premium.  21 days is probably a good length of
               time to hold E-mail, although this may certainly be ad-
               justed.

         L) Max Time Bank
            
            This specifies the maximum number of minutes that a user

                                           VBBS 6.12 Documentation -- 2-B-4


            may deposit into her time bank.  Setting this to 0 will
            disable the built-in time bank.

            In addition to the internal time bank, as with other func-
            tions, there are several time-bank VSCRIPTS available.

          Z) SCREEN THREE
             
             Takes you to Screen Three of MAIN configuration.

